Improvement in horse hay-rakes



PATENTED MAR 21 18Wv fitti.

JOHN l-l. SOHOONMAKER, OF BETHLEHEM, A SSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ALEXANDERSELKIRK, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 112.854. dated March 21. 1871 antedated March 10,1871.`

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAV-RAKES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

Be it known that I, JoHN H. SoHooXMAKEa, of the town of Bethlehem, inthe county of' Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Horse Hay-Rakes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing forming a part of' this specification, in which-Figure l represents a perspective view of a horserake embodying myinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, and illustrates the manner of'the operation of my improvements.

My invention consists in a certain combination and arrangement of' anadjustable guide-Clovis, draw-rod, and loop with a rake-head holdingfingers, and a lever, by which the horse will, by his draft, be capable,at the will of the driver, of operating the rake-fingers either to throwthem up orto press the saule down, as hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my in vention,-lwill proceed to describe it in reference to the drawing and letters ofreference marked thereon, the same letters indicating like parts.

In the drawing- A'A represents the carrying-wheels.

B is the rake-head, (serving also as the axle,) having its bearings inthe hubs of the wheels A.

C are the shafts.

To the rake-head B are attached the rake-fingers F in any ofthe usualways, and at proper distai'ices-from cach other.

The shafts C are attached to the rake-head Bat the journals c c, by thcbearings d d, formed by the ends of the shafts O and straps s s, in sucha manner that the said rake-head can be revolved or rolled in thebearings so formed.

v Io the rake-head B, and about midway of its length, I attach securelythe loop G, one end of' which loop is dropped down below the rake-head Babout eight inches, more or less, as at X, while the other end Z israised to or above the top of' the said rake-head.

To the said loop G I attach a draw-rod, H, by means of the eye e, intowhich eye the bar forming the said -i'oop can slip.

I drop bclow the shafts C, from any suitable point, (the cross-bar of'the shafts 'being preferred) the adjustable guide-clevis M, orequivalent crotch-standard, in which are provided several piu-holes, 1n,into any of' which may be inserted the pins g.

Into this guide-clevis M, and confined by one or more pins, g, to acertain place in the same, is placed the second end of draw-rod H, towhich the whifilctree is to be attached.

By means of the said clevis M and the pin g the angle of the draft ofthe draw-rod H can be regnlated so as to adapt this hay-rake to operateadvantageously n'iight or heavy hay, according to the ele- 'ing resultssimilar to those in my invention.

vation given to the end of the draw-rod H in the said clcvis M.

lo the rake-head B I attacl: the lever L, to be operated either by handor the foot.

The manner' in which this hay-rake operates is as follows:

The horse isplaced between the shafts O and hitched to the whifletreeattached to the end of the draw-rod H, in the usual manner.

It' the rake is to operate in heavy hay, the ping will he placed in thelower hole m, (or a; near hole,) with the draw-'rod H below; or, it`tooperate in light hay, the said pin will be placedin some one of theupper holes.

'lhc draw-rod H will, by its eye e, draw from the lower end X of theloop G, and the draft on the saine will act to press the fingers F downto the ground; and as the hay accumulates against the iingers, tocounteract the draft, the draft on the loop will be greater, and inproportion to the pressure or resistance of' the hay against thefingers, so that in every condition of the resistance ot' the hay, be itmore or less, thel draft ofthe horse will be sufiicient to keep thefingers down until it is desired to dump the hay, which is done by thedrivel' pressing down the lever L slight-ly until the loop G takes aposition that will bring it at less than a right angle with the draw-rodH, when the dmft ofthe horse will canse the eye e of' the draw-rod H tosli p up, on the loop G, to' the upper end Z of the same, and draw thesaid upper end Z over, and cause the rake-head to roll in such a manneras to throw the fingers 11 up Y and permit the hay to fall in itswindrow.

When the horse has taken about a single step the driver releases thelcver L and the fingers F will fall back on the ground, and ,the eye eot' the draw-rod will also drop to the lower end .X of .the loop Grforanother operation.

A rake with these improvements, arranged as above described, is simpleand not liable to get ont of order, and also etficient to operate iuevery circumstance of hay.

I am well aware that horse hay-rakes have been constructed and arrangedin suoli a mannen-that. the horse would, by his draft, be capable ofthrowing up the fingers and depressing the same, thereby effect- Itherefore do not claim, broadly, a rake thus operating.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is f In a horsehay-rake, the combination of the adjustable clevis M, draft-rod H`, andloop G with the rakehead B, shafts (land lever L, substantially `as andfor the purpose set forth. Witnesses: JOHN H.SOHO0NMAKER.

ALEX.' SELKIRK, J. A. BUcKBEa, Jr.

